Last One Standing
by Psychodahlia
Summary: What happened to Tot after the mansion fell? Is she Nanami or is she Tot? Chapter five is here!
1. Chapter 1

She stared at the piece of paper for a long time. She knew what it meant; it was just hard to wrap her newly healed mind around it. After living dependant on others for so long it was hard to understand freedom.

For starters it meant she was rich. It had been a long time since she had picked around garbage cans when her biological father forgot to feed her, but the memory remained. Now there was no chance of that ever happening again. As the only remaining member of Takatori Masafumi's household everything belonged to her. Even after the taxes and lawyer's fees she was still a multi-millionaire.

It meant she had a name. It was printed neatly at the top of the lawyer's documents. Hibino Nanami. It was a good name. She wasn't just a codename anymore; she was a real human being. She was no longer dead to the world.

The blue haired girl moved the documents on the expensive oak desk around before settling her eyes on her favorite one: the doctor's report. Whatever Nagi had done to her that night; it had brought her back to the land of the living. 'Mentally competent'. The mental damage her biological father had inflicted upon her was, to the greatest extent possible, healed. Now, at eighteen years old and a rich woman, she had been removed from the government's list of people it needed to keep track of. There would be no more foster homes.

The lawyer entered the room and told her they were done. The fees had been extracted; everything had been transferred to her account. The bill was in the mail. Nanami stood up and smoothed her overpriced white skirt. The lawyer bowed and thanked her for once again choosing them to represent her. She smiled and stuffed her papers in her purse before exiting the room. She was glad to be out of the law office and took a deep breath once she exited the sleek, glassy building.

It was a rather cool autumn day outside. There was a wind blowing and Nanami pulled her light pink jacket closer to her. With her high heels clicking against the concrete, she pushed her way through the crowd towards her favorite café.

The cheery sign in the window beckoned her into the world of overpriced coffee and chocolate chip muffins. The bell over the door gently sang out as she entered and walked up to the counter. The café was warm, but not over heated and the girl behind the counter chirped out a greeting. Tot placed her order and went to a table to eat her breakfast. She chose a booth by the window and settled down to watch the light rain that had started to fall.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be eighteen by any chance?" There was a light tone to the pick up line that hinted the speaker was wearing a smile as he said it. Nanami turned her head around slowly, intent on politely asking the man to move on.

Her clear blue eyes widened when she saw who it was. She gritted her teeth as memories of Neu's strangled body lying on the floor came to the front of her mind. Masafumi-papa's deformed body floating in a vat of healing chemicals. She stole a glance at his wrist and sure enough the hateful watch was loosely clasped there.

Judging from the way he took a step back, he recognized her as well. His eyes were hidden behind fashionably large sunglasses but the hoarsely whispered "Schrient!" indicated his shock. For a while they stared at one another, too tense to move. When she went for her purse, his hand moved towards the watch.

She glanced up. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you now." She placed the money to pay for the coffee and muffin on the tray and stood up. "I'm surprised you're still alive actually. I thought the American was more thorough than that."

"You were dead." He hissed out. "I saw you die!"

She shrugged. "Maybe. But the doctor can tell you that I'm alive and well. Better than I've been in a long time in fact." She pulled the neon pink strap of her purse over her shoulder and headed for the door. "Bye-bye, Weiss." She sang out in tune to the little ringing bell as she slipped out the door.

When she arrived at her condo, she was relieved. Months of therapy, of 'What did Dr. Takatori do to you while you were in his care?' of self-esteem classes, had not prepared her to face her past so suddenly. Throwing her purse and jacket on the plush leather loveseat, she kicked off her heels and collapsed on the couch. As she slumped down in exhaustion, she failed to notice that across the street someone was looking in through her window.

End Part One.

Author's note: Dun dun duuuuuun. Who is looking in through Tot's window? What exactly did Nagi do to her? Where's Rabbi-chan? Check back next update, same Weiss time, same Weiss fan fic setting!

I have to give credit to Guilty Red who pointed out in one of her notes that as the last surviving member of Masafumi's household, Tot would be the one to inherit everything. Check out her works at: http/ warned, some of her stuff is not for the young-uns.

I own nothing. It all belongs to Project Weiss.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

The fat woman behind the counter gave an insincere smile and passed Nanami her copies of the paperwork. "There. Now just follow the directions in the guidebook to log on and sign up for your classes."

Nanami smiled, blue locks bouncing. "Thank you, ma'am." She said happily, stuffing the papers in her purse.

"Quite welcome." The woman said dully. "Next!"

Nanami turned away from the counter. Deciding the library would be the best place to sign up for classes, she headed toward what was the oldest building on campus. The computer lab was located there and there would be someone to help her figure out how to log on. She wasn't the greatest with computers; Masafumi had never let her touch one.

The community college had accepted her. Despite her lack of a formal education, she had passed their entrance exam. True, she had barely passed it and all she was eligible for were remedial classes, but she had passed it. It was reason enough for the smile of pride that was spread all over her face. Her strides were long and confident as she made her way to the library.

"Excuse me? Ms. Hibino? May I talk to you for a moment please?" Nanami turned around and her eyes widened in curiosity at the red-haired woman who had spoken.

"Yes…" She answered hesitantly. She might not have been the best of assassins, but she possessed enough skill and sense to be wary of strangers. Especially those she had never seen before and knew her name.

The overly busty woman gave a smile that was not entirely reassuring. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to offer you an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity?"

The woman gestured towards the library. "Let's talk in there." She led the way, several men stopped to look at the glamorous older woman in an impossibly short skirt walked past, followed by a confused, equally short-skirted girl. She held the door open for Nanami and they entered.

For the oldest building on the campus, the library was very modern. Computer stations were set up in every corner and the non-impact printers spat out papers at an incredible speed. The overhead lighting lit up the whole building and the new bookcases were tall enough that ladders were needed to reach the top shelves.

The red-haired woman seemed to know her way around and led Nanami to a dusty little corner of the library. Everybody else was congregated around the large wooden study tables in the front so they were alone.

The woman sat at one end of the table and gestured for Nanami to sit at the other end. She did, but held on to the strap of her purse figuring that if anything got weird she could swing it at the woman's face.

"Please excuse me, I haven't introduced myself." Her voice was low but forceful. "I am Manx and I have an opportunity for you."

There was something about this woman that wasn't right. Opportunities were good things; they meant you would be happy when you took or gave them. This woman, Manx, didn't look like she expected Nanami to be happy. She looked stern, like she had given this speech a hundred times before and had trained herself not to show emotion.

Nanami resolved to try and do the same for the remainder of the conversation.

"I'm from an organization called 'Kritiker'. I believe you have met some of our agents." She paused to let Nanami soak this in.

Kritiker…Kritiker. The name was certainly familiar. She could remember Hel and Neu discussing it in low, furious, tones, glancing around to make sure she wasn't paying attention. And this woman said she had met their agents so….

"Schwartz!" She gasped out, a little too loudly. This meant Nagi! This meant they could live together! This meant…

"No. Kritiker has no information on the whereabouts or condition of Schwartz." Manx said. "I'm talking about Weiss."

Nanami's resolve not to show emotion crumbled. She remembered the chance meeting with Yohji a few weeks ago and hissed out his name.

Manx blinked. "You know their names?"

"They weren't that careful about using whatever codenames you gave them." Nanami snarled. "Aya, Yohji, Ken, Omi." Schoen had made certain she memorized the names of the men who had murdered Masafumi.

For the briefest moment Manx looked surprised. "Kritiker must ask that you don't reveal whatever else you know about Weiss to anyone." She said evenly.

Nanami rolled her eyes. She could do nothing to Weiss on her own and they both knew it. "What do you want?"

"Kritiker would like to offer you a job."

Author's note- It all belongs to Project Weiss. I own nothing.

Tot is a very sympathetic character to me. We know that she had been abused by her biological father. The question of her treatment by Masafumi is also suspect. He kisses her on the lips when she was seventeen with the mind of a child. Given the creepy look on his face he enjoyed it. What else did he do to her? Was she originally a lab experiment? It's possible he's the cause of her mental state in the series.

Nagi did something when he caused the mansion to collapse. Not only did he bring her back to life but the look in her eye when she rises from the rubble suggests he healed something else.


	3. Chapter 3

As she flushed the former contents of her stomach down the toilet and straightened up, Nanami took a few moments to compose herself. She exited the stall, washed her hands and face and reapplied her pale pink lipstick.

Watching the figure in the mirror smooth the pink lipstick to perfection was surreal. She felt like she was watching someone else perform such a normal task.

It wasn't fair for them to do this to her. It wasn't fair to fling everything she hated about her old life in her face. Manx had said she could be assigned to a non-lethal unit, but Nanami knew better than to believe her. She wasn't the greatest of assassins, but she still held the title and had worked with a group for years. Her knowledge of all things sharp and pointy was extensive and that made her valuable.

Manx was waiting for her outside the bathroom. "Would you prefer to discuss this somewhere else?"

"No." There was no point in moving this discussion. She followed the older woman back to their corner of the library. "What if I refuse?"

Manx arched a perfectly tweezed eyebrow. "We can't force you to accept this. But we can offer you compensation."

She scowled. "Masafumi-Papa left me plenty of money."

A nod. "We can offer you other types of compensation. Do you know what happened to your mother?"

Nanami froze. "How…"

"She was arrested in Kyoto on charges of prostitution and possession of marijuana."

It took a moment for Nanami to digest this information. Her mother had disappeared when she was five. True, she had sometimes wondered about the woman but she hadn't given her much thought. Hibino Keiko was just a woman who had abandoned her daughter, nothing more.

"We could knock down the charges, convince the judge to go easy on her." Manx went on. "If you work for us."

Nanami felt like crying. Hel was right, these people were cruel.

"Like I said, we could start you off in a non-lethal unit. Kritiker needs people to act as messengers, intelligence, decoys…" Manx trailed off. "I won't say this is good for you, but in the long run it would be beneficial to you and your mother. You could get to know her this way, once she got out."

Nanami felt like throwing up again when she gave her answer. "I'll do it."

Manx had nodded, taken down Nanami's cell phone number and giving her her own. She had told her not to use it unless it was serious and that she would be contacted later. The assignment would be non-lethal. She wouldn't have to kill.

That was the promise anyway. As she walked down the bustling Tokyo street, Nanami felt numb. She barely noticed it when people jostled her or when one of a group of high school girls stepped on her foot. Nothing registered as she slid her ticket in the slot and climbed on the subway. She didn't feel anything when she turned the key in her apartment door and kicked off her shoes.

Only when she entered her bedroom and saw Rabbi-chan perched on her dresser did the tears flow. Stumbling across the room she grabbed her old stuffed toy and clutched it to her chest.

"Ne, Tot, what's wrong?"

"Everything's wrong! Kritiker showed up and they want me to work for them." She sobbed out. It was the first time in over a year since she had spoken to Rabbi-chan.

"You aren't going to, are you?"

"I said yes. I said I would."

Rabbi-chan was silent for a moment. "They killed Masafumi-papa though, didn't they?"

"Yes." She sobbed harder. "But they said…they said they knew where Mama was and they could get her out of jail."

The stuffed rabbit perked up. "That's good then, Tot! Then you can be with Mama!"

She nodded and wiped her eyes. Nanami wasn't sure if she wanted to be with her Mama, but the idea did have merit. She didn't remember Mama as being mean. She put the stuffed rabbit back in its place of honor on her dresser and went to go heat up some ramen for dinner.

Three days later she came home from school to find a letter in an unmarked envelope. It had been slipped under her door. Ripping it open she took out the piece of paper and read it.

Dear Nanami-chan,

I can't stop by today, something came up. I'll see you next Saturday at nine in the morning.

I know it's early but afterwards we can go out for breakfast. But I'll need to stop by the police station first to pick up some paperwork first and see the boss. You can come.

Anyways, I'll let you know what's going on then and I'll call you all the cute nicknames you want!

All my love,

Your Siamese Cat!

Nanami thought it rather odd that her contact considered code names cute and wondered why she would be expected to go to the police station.

Saturday came and she woke up extra early. She ate breakfast, brushed her teeth and had a quick pep-talk with Rabbi-chan. He was in the middle of telling her how grown-up she looked in her new skirt and blouse when the doorbell rang.

It took all her courage to walk down the hall, reach out and turn the knob to open the door.

The man standing in the hallway bowed slightly. "Miss Hibino?" He asked, looking up at her with eyes the color of low burning embers. "I'm Siamese."

Nanami took a deep breath. "I'm…Tot."

Author's notes- Poor Tot/Nanami. All those psychiatrists they made her meet with and she's still sick.

I'm sure you all hate Manx now. But she was just trying to do her job.


	4. Chapter 4

The man raised a well groomed eyebrow. "Tot? I was thinking of calling you 'Morrigan'."

Nanami silently cursed herself. "Please, come in." She stepped back to allow him room to enter. While he was slipping off his shoes she noticed a slight bulge in his suit jacket. He smiled when he saw her looking.

"It's a 9millimeter pistol."

"Ah." This meant nothing to Nanami. Masafumi-Papa did not allow Schrient to use handguns as bullets could be traced. "Would you like some coffee?"

"No." He said shortly. "Is there a place we could talk?" She nodded and led him down the hall to the living room. "Your home is very modern. And clean."

"I have a maid." She sat down on the leather sofa while he sat on the matching loveseat. He placed the leather briefcase he was carrying on the coffee table between them.

"My name is Siamese. I understand you were recruited by Manx?" His tone changed from almost friendly to business in a matter of moments.

"Yes." She wasn't eager to discuss her recruitment. Somehow he sensed this and moved on.

"You were recruited with the idea that you would engage in non-lethal activities. You have a choice then: you will join the group Hibernia here in Tokyo and act as a non-lethal component to their activities or we have a position open overseas in America." He looked at her over the tops of his glasses. They had square frames and smudge prints on them.

America. America was a scary place, Nanami had been taught. America was the homeland of Brad Crawford and he was the scariest person she had ever met. America was far away from Japan, far away from everything she knew and understood.

"I would suggest staying in Japan. You don't speak English." Siamese didn't explain how he knew this.

If she left Japan, she could find Nagi. The moment she thought that, she gave an involuntary shake of her head. She wanted to find Nagi so they could live together in a big house with a garden and five children, but even she knew that wasn't going to happen. If the boy had wanted to be with her, he would have found her by now.

"I'll stay in Japan." She whispered hoarsely.

He nodded. "Very well. In that case, you will be working with the group Hibernia." The foreign word rolled of his tongue smoothly, indicating he spoke English. He snapped the locks on the briefcase open and pulled out four thin manila folders. He stretched a long jacketed arm and slid them across the table to her. "These are your teammates."

The papers had been made to look like concise medical files. 'Brigit'. Fifteen years old. A picture of a scowling blond girl was included, along with her birthday, weight, height and blood type. No surgeries, allergic to dogs.

"She's young." Tot felt herself go numb. She had been sixteen before Hel had allowed her to participate in a mission.

"She is also a non-lethal component. She is an expert at what she does but Kritiker has deemed her too physically and mentally immature to be sent into combat yet."

"What does she do?"

He gave an odd little smirk. "You'll find out when you meet them."

'Dagda'. Twenty-six. Dark hair that was just beginning to go gray along the sides and dull, tired eyes. Birthday. Weight. Height. Blood type. No surgeries, no allergies. It was like a litany.

'Macha'. Twenty. A blank look framed by short, dark hair. Thin. Small. Had her wisdom teeth removed, allergic to pollen. O+.

Nanami read the last file aloud. "Lugh. Twenty-three years old. October eighteenth. 155 pounds, 5'9'. No surgeries, no allergies. A-." His picture showed an auburn haired young-man with angry green eyes. When she was finished reading she looked up at Siamese. "That's it? It's just these four?"

He nodded. "You'll be expected to move closer to their location. You'll need to be in contact for…"

She cut him off. "What will I be doing?"

The whole apartment went quiet for a moment. Even the outside noise coming from the busy streets of Tokyo seemed to fade into the background and Siamese adjusted his glasses and tie. "Your primary role will be of decoy and bait. You will be granted adequate protection for this."

'Adequate protection.' Nanami knew what that meant. "You said I wouldn't have to kill anybody!" She yelled out, sitting on the edge of the loveseat. "You said…"

"I know what was said and Kritiker will stand by that to the best of its ability. But understand that we can't predict how every situation will play out. You will have a back-up plan in case things go badly." He explained patiently. "In the event that you are compromised, you will always have the option of eliminating yourself."

Nanami had not been expecting that. "You mean suicide?"

"Yes."

She shrugged. "Okay then!"

Siamese blinked, clearly not used to such a nonchalant response on the topic. He adjusted his glasses. "Ehm, moving on. Like I said, your primary function will be decoy and bait. You will also be expected to hand deliver mission reports to the acting head of Kritiker."

"Couldn't we just use the computer to send them?" She asked. She didn't want to be in regular contact with any more of these people than was necessary.

"Kritiker doesn't use e-mail to convey sensitive material. There was a hacking incident in Venezuela that led to the deaths of an entire team. From now on, all reports and sensitive information are to be delivered by hand." He straightened his glasses once again. They weren't as shiny as Crawford's had been.

"While you are a trained assassin, you were on an opposing side and Kritiker has cause to question your loyalty. For that reason, you are considered an agent on probation. Your teammates will submit reports on your performance and you will be under surveillance. Should you do anything to undermine an mission or compromise the identity of your teammates or Kritiker you will be exterminated."

Siamese stood up and began gathering the files back into his briefcase. "We also has cause to question your frame of mind. Should you show signs of mental instability you will be removed from Kritiker and placed in an asylum. Should you show signs of mental instability during a mission, you will be exterminated." He snapped the brass locks on the briefcase shut and looked at the door.

"While we are in public you will refer to me as 'Jake' and I will call you 'Nanami'. At all other times I am Siamese and you are Morrigan. Is this clear?"

Nanami nodded. "Yes." She half-whispered, wishing Rabbi-chan was with her. If he were here he would tell Siamese to go away and leave her alone.

Then she remembered her therapist's words and stood up. "I believe you also wrote that we have an appointment at the Police Headquarters?" She asked, making sure her voice was strong and didn't waiver.

Again she had surprised him. "Yes. In fact I was just about to suggest we get on with that." He went over to the door and slipped on his shoes. She did the same, clumsily fiddling with the ankle strap to her high heels. Then he opened the door for her and she walked through.

Author's notes- Ahhh! So much talking in this chapter! I'm sorry. I promise the next chapter will have a bit more action in it. Things will happen to Nanami, some good, some bad. Other characters from Weiss will show up as well! So please look forward to it. I'll do my best to get it out on time.

Also, go read some of Poco Poco's stuff. I haven't had enough to time to read her stories in full, but I've read snippets and they're good.


	5. Chapter 5

Nanami wrapped her coat tightly around her like a protective barrier and stayed close to Jake. The police station was a rather dull place and she could feel the curious eyes of bored police following her across the room. She quickened her steps and instantly regretted it when the click of her heeled shoes echoed in the quiet office, drawing further attention to her.

Damn, but she wished she had Rabbi-chan.

Jake opened the door and gave a rather phony smile as he escorted her into a large, private office. The room was sparsely decorated, with the only non-essential she could see being a picture frame. Dark colors and drawn drapes made it dark with only the soft glow of the computer giving off any sort of light. The computer sat on top of a small desk, behind which was a dark leather armchair. Nanami had to squint for a moment to see who was in the armchair. When she saw who it was, she sucked in her breath and her hand reached for the lethal umbrella that wasn't there.

Omi Tsukiyono stared back at her with a neutral expression on his face. With his elbows resting on the desk and his hands folded in front of his face, he surveyed her for a few moments before turning to Jake. He nodded as if giving a signal to begin the introduction, his hair flopping over his eyes for a just second, making him look like the seventeen year old boy she had battled with years ago.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the two men started speaking. Jake's introduction of her was interrupted when Omi Tsukiyono nodded and mentioned they had previously met. Jake's eyebrow was lifted almost to his hairline but he still bowed and left the room at Omi's request.

With just the two of them the room was very quiet. There was a gentle, mechanical hum of the monitor and outside Nanami could hear birds chirping. The closed drapes obstructed her view but the whistles were audible, reminding both of the outside world that was denied to them. She swallowed a few times and cleared her throat.

Yohji had been harmless. A fool in love with a dead woman. But Omi…Omi was dangerous. He was sitting behind that giant desk, dressed in a crisp suit and staring at her. Yohji would live his life chasing after the next woman and trying to forget. Possibly, he would succeed. Omi would never forget though. He knew what she did for Masafumi-Papa.

"Yohji mentioned he'd seen you." The young man said quietly.

"Yohji talks too much." Nanami responded. She hadn't meant it to be funny, but Omi still gave a little smile.

"Sometimes." He opened a drawer and took out a file. "We didn't have a picture of you and I didn't recognize your name."

Tot blushed a little. "I thought Kritiker knew everything."

Omi shrugged and flipped through her file. "The Takatori family is powerful. Masafumi was able to have any records detailing your stay with him erased."

That made sense. Masafumi and the rest of Schrient had often warned her not to mention her connection to him. Might compromise his work, bring up too many questions.

Something else Omi had said caught her attention. "_Is_ a powerful family?"

He hadn't expected her to catch that. After regaining his composure, he stood up and leaned over the desk, reaching out to her. "I am Takatori Mamoru. Acting head of the Takatori family and Kritiker. You may call me 'Persia'."

She took his hand. "I'm Hibino Nanami." Somehow, the fact that he was shaking her hand made him less frightening.

"You are an agent for Kritiker, Hibino-san?" His smooth, polite intonation of her name was so different from Siamese's 'Miss Hibino'.

"Yes. I was recruited by Manx and Siamese is briefing me." She felt proud of herself for getting all that out so smoothly.

"Has he assigned you a codename and team?"

Nanami wracked her memory, startled by the unexpected question. Jake had mentioned this before, he told her code name and… remembering her psychiatrist's words about remaining calm and deep breaths, she paused for a few moments before opening her mouth. Persia seemed to sense her anxiety and began clicking around on his computer.

"You're…"

"Morrigan. My codename is Morrigan and I've been assigned to Hibernia."

Persia stopped clicking and nodded. "Interesting." He didn't explain what he meant by that, but instead pushed his chair back and stood up. Leading Nanami to the door, he gripped the knob and opened it. Jake was on the other side. He was facing away from them with his hands in his pockets. She noticed the back of his suit jacket need ironing.

After being so long in the dark room, the light from the hallway burned her eyes and she had to squint. Blinking a few times, Nanami became aware that Persia and Jake were speaking. After a token conversation where she stated how happy she was to start work as an on the site social worker and he welcomed her to the team, everyone bowed to each other and Jake led her out of the office. Several police officers stared after them, wondering how such a young woman could be a social worker.

When they entered her apartment, Nanami looked around, frowning. Something was different. Everything was in its place, but had the toaster always been that close to the edge of the counter? And hadn't her shoes been arranged differently? Jake saw her looking and smiled patronizingly.

"While we were out, agents investigated your apartment. We had to check to make sure it wasn't tapped and there was nothing to indicate you would be an unfit agent."

Kritiker, Nanami decided, was nosey. "Find anything?"

"Nope." He bowed and turned to leave.

"Siamese?"

"Yes?"

She hesitated. "Persia seemed surprised at my codename. Why?"

Without turning around Siamese answered. "Morrigan was the Celtic goddess of war and death." He turned a little, a wry smile stretching across his face. "I thought it would suit you."

Author's notes- This chapter took forever to write. So sorry!

According to legend, Morrigan would take the form of a crow and decide who died in battle. There's another story where she washed the clothes of warriors who would die. Her name means 'Terror' or 'Greatness'. Interesting woman.

Jake/Siamese tries to be Brad Crawford, but isn't. Epic fail.

Thank you for reading and I'll try to be quick with the next chapter.


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